Former Mayor Adams Adviser Ingrid Lewis-Martin & Son Facing Bribery Charges
Written by djfrosty on December 20, 2024
Source: Pacific Press / Getty
The former chief adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams and her son officially turned themselves in to face bribery charges.
On Thursday morning (December 19), Ingrid Lewis-Martin turned herself in to face corruption and bribery charges. She and her son, Glenn Martin II, were seen heading into the lower Manhattan offices of District Attorney Alvin Bragg. Lewis-Martin was the chief adviser to New York City Mayor Eric Adams, but she resigned abruptly on Sunday, citing a wish to spend more time with her family.
The charges of bribery facing Lewis-Martin include her son being given a $100,000 loan to purchase a Porsche by two businessmen after she allegedly helped them resolve an issue they encountered with the city’s Department of Buildings while undergoing construction on a hotel property they owned. A lawyer for one of the businessmen, Mayank Dwivedi, said that his client had committed no wrongdoing. Martin, 38, is a professional DJ who has gained prominence working several events through the years thanks to his mother and Adams, including events at Brooklyn Borough Hall and at City Hall. Going by the name of “Suave Luciano”, he also performed as part of the city’s “Rise Up” concert series in 2022.
Lewis-Martin’s reporting to the district attorney’s office makes her the highest-ranking city official out of a dozen to date to face charges since Mayor Adams was himself indicted on federal corruption charges in September. “I’m being falsely accused of something,” she said in a press conference. “I don’t know exactly what it is, but I know that I was told that it’s something that’s illegal, and I have never done anything illegal in my capacity in government.” The 63-year-old politician has been a staunch ally to Mayor Adams for decades, remarking that she is his “sister ordained by God.” A press conference by the D.A.’s office is set for Thursday afternoon.
The situation takes place during a week that has seen Mayor Adams undergo difficulties related to his case. On Monday (December 16), the city’s campaign finance board denied his re-election campaign $4.3 million in public funding. The following day, his request to move his April 2025 trial date up was denied by a federal judge.